Transcript of interview in the Senate

On visiting quarantined peacekeepers in Caballo Island led by DOH acting chief Janette Garin

I completely disagree with what she did, mali naman talaga yon eh... At that stage she should have taken extra precautions and should not have done that na siya lang, about going there, visiting. Kasi naman talaga, simpleng logic, kung siya pwede bakit yung kamag-anak hindi pwede, kung siya pwede ba't yung media hindi pwede, ano'ng pinagkaiba. Buti kung siya lang, eh yung mga alalay nila, to begin with, ilan ba, ilan ba sila, mga 30, 50.

Yung EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) dito na lang daw scrutinize ng Senate, sabi ng Supreme Court

How can it be scrutinized by Senate if it's not even being submitted as a treaty to the Senate. I mean, we're depending on what the executive submits to us, so if the executive considers it as an executive agreement, we cannot compel the executive to submit to us an executive agreement for ratification. We can investigate, we can find out what EDCA is all about which I think was done by the Senate, but we cannot force the hand of the executive to submit it to us as a treaty for ratification.

But you're willing to scrutinize it if the executive department eventually submits...

I think nagka-EDCA briefing in the senate, if you remember, nagkaron dito non. I think both under the committees on foreign affairs and defense. Nagkaron sila ng hearing at briefing about it, if you remember ha, on EDCA. Kasi at that time it was newly signed, wala namang isyu eh.

The legality...

Because nga foreign policy is within the sole domain of the executive, not really of Congress or of the supreme court, so they get to decide alin ba yung executive agreement, alin ba yung treaty, alin ba yung isa-submit for ratification, alin yung hindi. But try to backtrack a bit, yung VFA nirereklamo non na bakit sa Amerika executive agreement lang, bakit tayo treaty, bakit binibigyan natin ng napakataas na importansiya yung VFA, ang Amerika hindi naman. So itong EDCA pinantayan na lang siguro ng gobyerno yung Amerika, executibe agreement sa kanila, executive agreement din sa atin, nirereklamo pa rin. So hindi ko alam kung anong pupuntahan ng gobyerno on that issue. Well we can pass a resolution, perhaps, urging the executive, but it's not binding, we cannot compel them.

So if it's a treaty...

If it's a treaty it should be submitted under the Constitution, but if it's an executive agreement, no, it need not. Unless the Supreme Court would decide but it shows not to, they would decide na this is not an executive agreement, this is a treaty that should be submitted to the senate for ratification, but they did not do that.

So sufficient na yung hearing early on

If not I think the hearing will be conducted if a senator, or someone ask that EDCA be heard, but it's pending still before the supreme court. Kasi ang matter naman na ni-raise nila is more in relation to the legality of the treaty and its application to the Laude case. I think the implications of EDCA and its ratifications were sufficiently explained during the hearing, wala lang in the specific case of Laude, wala rin siguro in the specific legal aspects.

On the intelligence and confidential funds, yung mga agency na nabanggit nyo those are na allowed lang, wala ng iba?

Walang iba, wala kaming dinagdag, wala kaming pinayagang ma-add don sa agencies or sa amount na nilagay, wala kaming binago don.

May mga agency na nagri-request for additional funding

Yes, of course, it's natural like AFP, NBI, Ombudsman, COA, but we did not allow it in the Senate finance committee version.

You also mentioned kanina na medyo mahirap yung monitoring dito

Definitely because accounting rules are relaxed with respect to intelligence funds, certification lang yan, so hindi tayo nakakakita ng usual liquidation as required by COA guidelines for ordinary or regular funds of government.

Hindi siya subject for auditing ng COA?

It is pero by certification lang, that's sufficient compliance already with COA rules.

Yung total na intelligence and confidential funds, mukhang lulusot naman yon

Yes, unless someone proposes an amendment to that effect, but personally I will not allow any increase on those funds anymore.

On visiting quarantined peacekeepers and wearing protective gear

I also disagree with what she (Acting Health Secretary Garin) did in breaking protocols, I think that's just a light way of reminding her and telling her na hindi dapat ginagawa yan at hindi na sana ginawa yon.

Irresponsible ba yon sir

I won't go to that extent, but I think it was completely and unnecessary and uncalled for, specially for the intention and purpose that they said, to improve or increase the morale of our troops. Actually when they were interviewed tanggap naman nila na kailangan nilang pagdaanan nila yon, wala namang problema don eh, kahit yung mga pamilya tanggap din naman nila yon, dahil siyempre ayaw nilang mahawa yung pamilya nila kung saka-sakali, walang isyu don at at hindi na kinakailangan yung ginawa pa nilang yon.

So there's no need to move the date of DOH deliberation or summon Secretary Ona, instead

No we cannot summon secretary Ona because he's on leave, I think for health reasons, we cannot do that. In so far as she is concerned, again, hopefully she was responsible enough to actually know what she's doing and not put the entire country, not only the senate, at risk dahil hindi lang naman siya yung pumunta ron eh, pati yung mga bodyguard nila, alalay nila, yung party nila, yung staff nila, ilan ba yon at sino-sino at saan na ba nagpunta yung mga yon. Hindi naman siguro dapat maghugas-kamay pa ang senado na kami, hindi pwedeng lapitan, eh ang dami nang nilapitan ng mga taong ito.

Pwede bang representative, instead na si Garin yung pumunta

Yung representative baka naman nakamayan nya na rin yon dahil kasama nya yon, kasama sa departamento yon, ganon na rin yung suma total non, kung meron man at may problema man.

Yung pagsusuot ng protective gear (sa senate) gaano kalaki yung possibility na...

Kung siseryosohin nya yon, nasa kanya na yon, pero yon ay, ikanga, light way of reminding and telling her what she did was uncalled and should not have been done to begin with.

Pwedeng i-adjust na lang...

No, hindi rin naman mako-comply yon, it's a total of 42 days ha, yung quarantine period, yung initial 21 days don sa country of origin, 21 days dito, dahil mas mura kung dito at mas medaling i-check kung dito, so kung manggagaling ka sa bansa na may Ebola, mandated na ng UN na may mandatory quarantine ka bago ka pa man umalis ng bansa. The next set of 21 days would already be in the country of destination or dito, so hindi rin naman aabot, lalampas pa ng Pasko, kung 42 days, ni hindi siya magpa-Pasko dapat.

Si PNoy sinabi sa Singapore na open siya sa mga kandidato sa ibang partido na kunin for 2016, he's consulting na raw for consensus. So pwde na yung Poe-Francis?

Mag-aaply ba sa akin yon, o sa amin yon, hindi din kami miyembro pa ng ibang partido. I am an independent, even Senator Poe is an independent. But it's up to the President, that's his decision, discretion and he's talking about his party and his coalition. I live it up to the President to decide these matters in so far as he is concerned.

No initial offer sir?

None, to be fair to everyone, none.

Tumaas ba sir yung hope on your part na baka kayo yung posibleng makuha, kung saka-sakali

Pwde ba bago pag-usapan yung pagtakbo, paglalakad na muna, nandon muna ko sa lakad, wala sa takbo... Papunta sa altar, hindi papunta sa balota.

Sign ba yon na walang makuha si Presidente sa sarili niyang partido that's why he is opening it up to other parties

Not for me to say, I don't want to speak for President, neither do I want to speak for the Liberal Party, that would be unfair because they have their own and respective spokespersons. Ni hindi pwedeng sabihing tumataas ba yung pag-asa ko o ninuman dahil ni walang nag-aalok at ni hindi naman kami nagpaplano rin. Let that come if it will come, but not now, later perhaps.

Pero last elections, adopted kayo ng administration coalition, so willing ba kayo to join ulit?

I'm not even sure if I'm running, unlike in the 2013 elections, I was sure of running for reelections, I could easily answer that question, but to begin with, there is a prejudicial question, tatakbo ba ako o hindi, so hindi pa naman ako nagpaplano o nag-iisip o nagpapasya, so for me to answer that question would be premature at this time.

Yung naging statement na yon ni PNoy indication yon na hindi talaga si Mar pa

Again ayaw kong pangunahan si Pangulong Aquino, may tagapagsalita siya para magpaliwanag nang sinasabi niya, ayaw ko ring pangunahan yung LP, mas marami pa silang tagapagsalita kaysa kay Pangulong Aquino, so hayaan natin sila ang magpaliwanag ng panig nila at kung saan nanggagaling si Pangulong Aquino sa kanyang binanggit.

Pero that signifies na weak yung party, kasi wala siyang...

Again, not for me to say but the mere fact that the administration party entered into a coalition with other parties goes to show that as much as possible the administration wants a wider acceptability and a wider or broader coalition to implement its major reforms, plans and programs.

So naninigurado sir?

Wala naman sigurong tatanggi ron, ikanga politics is always addition, so na mas malawak ang suporta, na hindi lamang limitado sa partido mo ang naunang gawaing pinapasukan nyo, palaging mas magandang bagay yon

Bilang mentor ni Senator Poe, may mga calls din naman para tumakbo siya, are you encouraging Senator Poe?

We haven't talked about it and we're not talking about it. We just talk about it factually what people are saying, what people are writing pero hindi po namin napag-uusapan yon, to be fair, both to her and to me.

Kailan kayo magdedecide to run?

Kailan kami magde-decide to run or not to run, I would include that. I don't know, perhaps a year before siguro, that's when I think the proper time to consider all these things, ng sinumang kandidato, kasi napakaaga pa naman talaga. Again if you look at the landscape in 2010, yung mga nagplano nang maaga, yung mga nagdeklara nang maaga, ang ilan sa kanila bumaba, ang ilan sa kanila hindi natuloy, at yung natuloy at nagwagi pa sa dulo ay yung pinakahuling nagdeklara. So wala naman yon sa unahan ng pagdeklara, wala rin yon sa panahon ng pagdeklara dahil yung landscape nagbabago at mas maliwanag yan sa darating na taon, kaysa sa taong ito.

Kung independent kayo, ang obvious direction ba is for you to set up another group or join existing political groups.

Hypothetical at this stage, again, we're not even, hindi ito tulad ng reeleksyonista kami sa pagkasenador, so the fact of even running, we're not even up for reelection, wala pa yon sa table at hindi pa pinag-uusapan.